The most impactful moment coming out of last weekend’s NFL Divisional Round was Patrick Mahomes crumpling to the ground after a dangerous running play as he scurried to get a first round for the Chiefs, and it led to a day-by-day tick tock of news from NFL reporters about Mahomes’ status for Sunday’s AFC Championship Game.
The wait is over, as Mahomes told reporters on a media call Friday that he has cleared the NFL concussion protocol and will be active against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.
#Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes tells reporters that he’s been cleared from the NFL’s concussion protocol. Good to go for Sunday.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 22, 2021
While the hit appeared quite hard and Mahomes certainly got up in a daze and had trouble standing afterward, he and the team have been diligent about clearing all the right steps throughout this process. Even after announcing he would be good to go this week, Mahomes denied credit for any “grit” related to playing this week, and focused on the fact that he had been medically cleared.
Mahomes got a question today, to paraphrase, about his determination/grit to play in this game. To his credit, he answered that he had to follow the concussion protocol / take care of his health first.
— Lindsay Jones (@bylindsayhjones) January 22, 2021
Of course, this is huge news for Kansas City as well. Their chances against Buffalo get a huge boost with Mahomes behind center rather than Chad Henne. The Chiefs are favored by somewhere in the neighborhood of three points on the betting markets. The AFC Championship game will kick off at 6:40 p.m. ET on Sunday in Kansas City.